Evidence-based Health benefits of Fasting

https://authoritynutrition.com/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/

10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

By Kris Gunnars, BSc |

April, 2016

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314,488

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Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting.

Numerous studies show that it can have powerful benefits for your body and brain.

Here are 10 evidence-based health benefits of intermittent fasting.

1. Intermittent Fasting Changes The Function of Cells, Genes and Hormones

When you don’t eat for a while, several things happen in your body.

For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting:

• Insulin levels: Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning (1).
• Human growth hormone: The blood levels of growth hormone may increase as much as 5-fold (2, 3). Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain, and have numerous other benefits (4, 5).
• Cellular repair: The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste material from cells (6).
• Gene expression: There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and protection against disease (7, 8).

Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones, gene expression and function of cells.

Bottom Line: When you fast, insulin levels drop and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express.

2. Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight and Belly Fat

Many of those who try intermittent fasting are doing it in order to lose weight (9).

Generally speaking, intermittent fasting will make you eat fewer meals.

Unless if you compensate by eating much more during the other meals, you will end up taking in fewer calories.

Additionally, intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.

Lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) all increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use for energy.

For this reason, short-term fasting actually increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories (10, 11).

In other words, intermittent fasting works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).

According to a 2014 review of the scientific literature, intermittent fasting can cause weight loss of 3-8% over 3-24 weeks (12). This is a huge amount.

The people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, which indicates that they lost lots of belly fat, the harmful fat in the abdominal cavity that causes disease.

One review study also showed that intermittent fasting caused less muscle loss than continuous calorie restriction (13).

All things considered, intermittent fasting can be an incredibly powerful weight loss tool. More details here: How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight.

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting helps you eat fewer calories, while boosting metabolism slightly. It is a very effective tool to lose weight and belly fat.

3. Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Insulin Resistance, Lowering Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has become incredibly common in recent decades.

Its main feature is high blood sugar levels in the context of insulin resistance.

Anything that reduces insulin resistance should help lower blood sugar levels and protect against type 2 diabetes.

Interestingly, intermittent fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and lead to an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels (12).

In human studies on intermittent fasting, fasting blood sugar has been reduced by 3-6%, while fasting insulin has been reduced by 20-31% (12).

One study in diabetic rats also showed that intermittent fasting protected against kidney damage, one of the most severe complications of diabetes (13).

What this implies, is that intermittent fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

However, there may be some differences between genders. One study in womenshowed that blood sugar control actually worsened after a 22-day long intermittent fasting protocol (14).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels, at least in men.

4. Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in The Body

Oxidative stress is one of the steps towards aging and many chronic diseases (14).

It involves unstable molecules called free radicals, which react with other important molecules (like protein and DNA) and damage them (15).

Several studies show that intermittent fasting may enhance the body’s resistance to oxidative stress (16, 17).

Additionally, studies show that intermittent fasting can help fight inflammation, another key driver of all sorts of common diseases (17, 18, 19).

Bottom Line: Studies show that intermittent fasting can reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the body. This should have benefits against aging and development of numerous diseases.

5. Intermittent Fasting May be Beneficial For Heart Health

Heart disease is currently the world’s biggest killer (20).

It is known that various health markers (so-called “risk factors”) are associated with either an increased or decreased risk of heart disease.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve numerous different risk factors, including blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels (12, 21, 22, 23)

However, a lot of this is based on animal studies. The effects on heart health need to be studied a lot further in humans before recommendations can be made.

Bottom Line: Studies show that intermittent fasting can improve numerous risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.

6. Intermittent Fasting Induces Various Cellular Repair Processes

When we fast, the cells in the body initiate a cellular “waste removal” process calledautophagy (7, 24).

This involves the cells breaking down and metabolizing broken and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells over time.

Increased autophagy may provide protection against several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease (25, 26).

Bottom Line: Fasting triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells.

7. Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Cancer

Cancer is a terrible disease, characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells.

Fasting has been shown to have several beneficial effects on metabolism that may lead to reduced risk of cancer.

Although human studies are needed, promising evidencefrom animal studies indicates that intermittent fasting may help prevent cancer (27, 28, 29, 30).

There is also some evidence on human cancer patients, showing that fasting reduced various side effects of chemotherapy (31).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting has been shown to help prevent cancer in animal studies. One paper in humans showed that it can reduce side effects caused by chemotherapy.

8. Intermittent Fasting is Good For Your Brain

What is good for the body is often good for the brain as well.

Intermittent fasting improves various metabolic features known to be important forbrain health.

This includes reduced oxidative stress, reduced inflammation and a reduction in blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.

Several studies in rats have shown that intermittent fasting may increase the growth of new nerve cells, which should have benefits for brain function (32, 33).

It also increases levels of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (32, 34, 35), a deficiency of which has been implicated in depression and various other brain problems (36).

Animal studies have also shown that intermittent fasting protects against brain damage due to strokes (37).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting may have important benefits for brain health. It may increase growth of new neurons and protect the brain from damage.

9. Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease.

There is no cure available for Alzheimer’s, so preventing it from showing up in the first place is critical.

A study in rats shows that intermittent fasting may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or reduce its severity (38).

In a series of case reports, a lifestyle intervention that included daily short-term fasts was able to significantly improve Alzheimer’s symptoms in 9 out of 10 patients (39).

Animal studies also suggest that fasting may protect against other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease (40, 41).

However, more research in humans is needed.

Bottom Line: Studies in animals suggest that intermittent fasting may be protective against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

10. Intermittent Fasting May Extend Your Lifespan, Helping You Live Longer

One of the most exciting applications of intermittent fasting may be its ability to extend lifespan.

Studies in rats have shown that intermittent fasting extends lifespan in a similar way as continuous calorie restriction (42, 43).

In some of these studies, the effects were quite dramatic. In one of them, rats that fasted every other day lived 83% longer than rats who weren’t fasted (44).

Although this is far from being proven in humans, intermittent fasting has become very popular among the anti-aging crowd.

Given the known benefits for metabolism and all sorts of health markers, it makes sense that intermittent fasting could help you live a longer and healthier life.

You can find more info about intermittent fasting on this page: Intermittent Fasting 101 – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide.

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Shahr Ramadan Headache? Brief Exercise Cure?

Sunnah fit video with neck exercises that may eliminate that fasting headache - give it a try and feel free to comment if it works or not.

Exercising while Fasting - a Great Option - The Scientific 7-Minute Workout

This workout can be as short as 7 minutes, although you might want to do it up to 3 times in succession, 3-5 times per week.  Research is showing that short intense interval workouts can give as much bang for the buck as many much longer workouts in terms of fitness - weight loss, cardio fitness, strength training, etc.  Even in the month of Ramadan you can probably manage a 7 minute workout!


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/

Audio Files to time your workout

Web App to time and direct your workout:  http://7minworkoutapp.com/

Videos to show how to do each component in proper form:  http://lifehacker.com/these-12-videos-show-the-proper-form-for-a-7-minute-ful-499199366

Simple one-month fitness plan

Here is a one-month fitness plan that could easily be done in the month of Ramadan with great results.  No equipment needed except perhaps shoes.

http://www.gymjunkies.com/home-workout-for-beginner/

Basic stretch/exercise for Shahr Ramadan or anytime

Fitness in the month of Ramadan

Each year, many people aim to use the month of Ramadan for a variety of self-reforming habits including spiritual, mental, and physical changes. Fasting clearly places an emphasis on spiritual reform by gaining mastery over natural appetites. But some people also see it as an opportunity to stop smoking, overeating, and starting exercise regimes.

When fasting in summer, the stresses on the body are more extreme. There is less time for eating, praying, and sleeping in the night hours, and completing required tasks during the day can be more difficult due to heat and extended hours without sustenance. Unfortunately, many Muslims abuse their bodies in the month of Ramadan by eating unhealthy foods and overeating, and/or by abandoning all exercise due to fasting and time constraints. In addition to getting less sleep, this leads to weight gain, muscle loss, illness, and lack of energy.

Nevertheless, with careful planning, it is possible to start, maintain, or improve eating and workout habits during the month of Ramadan. A plan should incorporate both exercise and nutrition. First of all, one needs to have a proper frame of mind that food is for energy first and we should choose what we eat to provide our body with what it needs for energy. There are definitely social and pleasure aspects to eating that we also need to accommodate, but these should not be allowed to override all consideration of healthy eating. Exercise in the month of Ramadan should include strength training to help minimize muscle loss due to fasting. This applies to men and women of all ages, as strength training helps maintain or improve bone density, increases metabolism, improves body shape and posture, and may reduce depression symptoms. Aerobic or cardio exercise is necessary for health of the circulatory system and burning excess calories.

One good method for planning your eating and fitness regime for the upcoming month of Ramadan is to use or adapt an existing program. One program designed particularly for use in the month of Ramadan, although it can also be used at any time, is Fit4Ramadan. This program is detailed in an 80 page manual (a pdf e-book download available for purchase at a reasonable price) that provides everything from a strength training workout plan, complete with pictures, that does not require a lot of special gym equipment, to a detailed daily meal plan and even a grocery shopping list. This list will not include samosas, but there is information on how to allow a limited amount of the special and rather unhealthy foods you may desire during the month. It provides quality information on what is healthy to eat and what a good meal for suhoor and iftar ought to consist of. If you are already a fitness guru, you will not find a lot of new information in the Fit4Ramadan program, but it does provide a logical, doable program for a variety of fitness levels. If you want a ready-to-go program so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel, then this is a sound option.

A very much less-detailed but similar plan was written by Rehan Jalali, C.S.N.
There are a few minor differences of opinion between the two programs on matters such as caffeine and timing of workouts, but the general nutrition and exercise advice are quite alike. Both recommend consuming a daily multivitamin especially during the month of Ramadan, and both recommend that workouts take place before suhoor or after iftar and not during the fasting day. Cardio exercise may be best done before suhoor, while strength training may be good either before suhoor or after iftar. Both suggest nutrition shakes as a reasonable option for suhoor.

Neither discuss enough around getting proper sleep. Sleep deprivation is likely in the month of Ramadan, but it is still necessary to try to make allotments of time for sleep in order to maintain health, avoid weight gain, and maintain ability to perform required daily tasks while fasting. In the month of Ramadan, this may best be accomplished through a nap before maghrib whenever possible. Doing most meal preparation one day a week on a weekend day, simplifying meals, and limiting unnecessary extra work and tasks for this month may help make this possible.

A third option is to adapt your existing fitness regime or, if just starting, to adapt one that may not be specifically for the month of Ramadan. If you are an avid exerciser, particularly if you are a cardio-fanatic, you may want to scale back the intensity of workouts and focus on maintenance while fasting. But it is not necessary or healthy to avoid exercise during the month - the regular guidelines in terms of time for exercise still apply (such as the oft-recited 30 minutes a day for all adults). One example of an easy-to-adapt realistic program is the 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough by Sean Foy. It is an extremely reasonable, adaptable, well-researched program that can easily be incorporated into your routine during the month of Ramadan. It discusses nutrition, but its focus is on a variety of simple, adaptable workouts that provide strength training and cardio benefits in a short amount of time. These workouts could easily be accomplished prior to fajr prayer without having to drastically reduce sleep time. One could also adopt a walking routine with a bit of strength training on alternate days, or adapt an exercise video or book one already has or that is readily available on the Internet. One of the best Internet resources for fitness is Sparkpeople. It is an excellent free community resource where you can find workouts, nutrition information, moral support, and track your food and fitness. A well-researched, non-fad, quality nutrition program like Weight Watchers can also be started or maintained during the month of Ramadan to help you make proper eating choices and avoid weight gain.

Some people see the month of Ramadan as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, but starting a whole new program during a summer fast can be intimidating and unrealistic. It is a common saying that it takes 40 days for a new habit to be created or a bad one to be destroyed, and the month of Ramadan, which already requires change, may be a good beginning for many. Even if you are not interesting in making big changes in the month of Ramadan, everyone should want to avoid abusing their body in this month and gaining weight, and some will want to make fitness and nutrition gains. These goals can only be accomplished through planning. The above options provide tools for that planning so that you can have your healthiest month of Ramadan yet, which should also make it easier for you to achieve your spiritual goals during this blessed month.